UCSC has pledged $100,000 to Seymour Marine Discovery Center's endowment, if the center can raise $500,000 in planned gifts by Sept. 30.

Planned gifts, such as a final will bequest, to the endowment are new fundraising focus, said Gary Griggs, director of UCSC's Institute of Marine Sciences. Seymour's $675,000 endowment gives $24,000 annually, which helps the center balance its finances in the long term, he said.

"It's not just a gift that's gone tomorrow," Griggs said. "It will grow over time and provide funding for decades into the future."

The center's operating budget, just more than $1 million, covers not only the aquarium, lecture and volunteer programs but also salaries and benefits. Though affiliated with UCSC, the center is self-sustaining and responsible for its fundraising, said Julie Barrett Heffington, the center's director. Since opening in 2000, the center has stayed out of debt — a miracle, given the financial climate, she said.

"It is always a struggle, every single year, to make this institution solvent," Heffington said. "Every year we start from scratch."

UCSC's pledge is part of the its comprehensive campaign, which aims to reach $300 million by 2017. Coastal sustainability is one of the campaign's top priorities.

Jeff Shilling, associate vice chancellor of strategic philanthropy, said environmental stewardship has been a campus value for decades.

"As the campus identified its top campaign priorities, an initiative in coastal sustainability was an obvious choice," Shilling said. "Because the Seymour center makes our research in this field so accessible, donors who support the center's endowment are helping foster a much greater public understanding of marine science and ocean conservation."

The pledge follows a successful matching drive last year, in which UCSC gave $200,000 to the center's endowment, after the center was able to raise an equal amount in new money. The center hopes to grow its endowment to $3 million by 2017, which would give about $126,000 annually, said Heidi Whitman, UCSC's development director of coastal sustainability.

A strong endowment helps ensure ocean education in Santa Cruz for future generations, said Heffington. About 40,000 children and 35,000 adults visited the center in 2013, a number that grows each year, she said.

Ensuring ocean health is critical to survival, and education is a powerful tool, Heffington said.

"If you want to do something that makes a lasting benefit for the planet, doing something for the ocean is probably one of the highest callings," she said.

Endowment challenge

What: Marine center seeks planned gifts, such as a final will bequest, for its endowment. If the center can raise $500,000 in planned gifts by Sept. 30, UCSC will add $100,000 to the endowment.